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'''First Landing State Park''' is a 2,888-acre [[Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation|state park]] situated on [[Cape Henry]] in the northern section of [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]]. As Virginia's most-visited state park, it serves as an oasis within urban Virginia Beach. The park is near the site of the first landing on April 26, 1607, of Captain Christopher Newport and the [[Virginia Company]] colonists before they established themselves at [[Jamestown]]. Built in part by an all African-American [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] between 1933 and 1940, the park is a [[National Natural Landmark]] and is listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Today the park draws visitors year-round for its rare ecological diversity, extensive trail network, Chesapeake Bay beachfront, and deep ties to American colonial history.
'''First Landing State Park''' is a 2,888-acre [[Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation|state park]] situated on [[Cape Henry]] in the northern section of [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]]. As Virginia's most-visited state park, it draws more than a million visitors annually, serving as a natural refuge within one of the most densely populated corridors on the East Coast. The park stands near the site where Captain Christopher Newport and approximately 104 men and boys of the [[Virginia Company]] first came ashore on April 26, 1607, before establishing the permanent English settlement at [[Jamestown]]. Built in part by African-American [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] workers between 1933 and 1940, the park is a [[National Natural Landmark]] and is listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. It draws visitors year-round for its rare ecological diversity, extensive trail network, Chesapeake Bay beachfront, and deep ties to American colonial history.


== History ==
== History ==
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=== The 1607 Landing ===
=== The 1607 Landing ===


On the early morning of Sunday, April 26, 1607, three small ships carrying the first permanent settlers of Virginia approached the shore near Cape Henry at the mouth of the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. Those three ships — the ''Discovery'', the ''Susan Constant'', and the ''Godspeed'' — brought the first English settlers to America. The roughly 100 Englishmen and women aboard, commanded by Captain Christopher Newport, went on to establish the first permanent English settlement in the New World at [[Jamestown]] after exploring what is now Virginia Beach for several days.
On the early morning of Sunday, April 26, 1607, three small ships carrying the first permanent English settlers to Virginia approached the shore near Cape Henry at the mouth of the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. Those three ships — the ''Discovery'', the ''Susan Constant'', and the ''Godspeed'' — had departed England in December 1606 under the authority of the Virginia Company of London. Roughly 104 men and boys were aboard; no women made the crossing on this initial voyage. Christopher Newport served as the expedition's naval commander, responsible for navigating the vessels across the Atlantic and along the coast.


That evening the colonists opened the strong box and read the instructions contained in the first charter, and upon discovering that the members of the council were named but not its president, they held the first recorded free election under English common law. According to George Percy, younger son of the Duke of Northumberland, who was among the group, the colonists "set up a cross and called the place Cape Henry" — naming it for Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King James I.
That evening the colonists opened the sealed orders from the Virginia Company and discovered that, while the members of the governing council had been named, no president had been designated. They held what is considered the first recorded free election under English common law in the New World. According to George Percy — younger son of the eighth Earl of Northumberland and one of the expedition's chroniclers — the colonists "set up a cross and called the place Cape Henry," naming the headland for Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King James I.{{sfn|Percy|1608}} After several days exploring the surrounding land and waterways, the party moved inland and established Jamestown on May 14, 1607.


A cross was erected in the state park by the Daughters of the American Colonists on April 26, 1935, to mark the location of the first landing by English colonists, along with a placard at the base of the cross bearing the dates of the landing and the settlement at Jamestown.
A cross was erected within the state park by the Daughters of the American Colonists on April 26, 1935, to mark the general location of the first landing, with a placard at the base bearing the dates of the landing and the subsequent settlement at Jamestown. This park cross is distinct from the nearby Cape Henry Memorial — a granite cross maintained by [[Preservation Virginia]] (formerly the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) that stands just outside the park's boundary on the grounds of [[Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story|Fort Story]]. In 2007, the park hosted a re-enactment of the first landing as part of the Jamestown 400th anniversary celebrations.


=== Civilian Conservation Corps and Park Founding ===
=== Civilian Conservation Corps and Park Founding ===


Development of Seashore State Park — as it was then known — began in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps on 1,060 acres of donated land. Most of the workers were Black American men, and the new park opened on June 15, 1936. The park was the first planned state park of the Virginia State Park system. Its plan was designed and developed with extensive consultation of the [[National Park Service]], which provided architectural drawings and plans.
Development of the park — then called Seashore State Park — began in 1933 when the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] began work on 1,060 acres of donated land. The labor was performed primarily by African-American CCC enrollees, including members of Company 1354P, one of the segregated "colored" companies established under the CCC's racially divided organizational structure. Working under the supervision of the Virginia State Commission on Conservation and Development and with architectural drawings and construction plans provided by the [[National Park Service]], the CCC crews built the park's cabins, trail system, recreational facilities, and infrastructure over the better part of a decade.{{sfn|Salmon|1986}} The new park opened on June 15, 1936, and was the first planned state park in the Virginia State Park system. CCC work at the site continued through 1940, by which time the park encompassed a considerably more developed trail and facility network than at its initial opening.


The Seashore State Park Historic District, comprising the entire 2,889-acre park, is a historic district with significance dating to 1933 for its architecture and engineering, and includes eight contributing buildings, six contributing sites, and ten contributing structures.
The Seashore State Park Historic District, comprising the entire 2,888-acre park, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places with significance dating to 1933 for its architecture and engineering. The historic district includes eight contributing buildings, six contributing sites, and ten contributing structures — the majority of which were built or substantially shaped by CCC labor.{{sfn|NPS NRHP|}}


=== Segregation and Civil Rights ===
=== Segregation and Civil Rights ===


Like all Virginia State Parks following Reconstruction and through the first half of the 1900s, First Landing State Park implemented [[Jim Crow laws]] with segregated and unequal facilities for white and Black visitors. In 1955, following the ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' Supreme Court decision, the governing authorities of First Landing State Park chose to close the park rather than integrate, reopening as an integrated park in 1965 following the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].
Like all Virginia State Parks in the decades following Reconstruction, First Landing State Park enforced [[Jim Crow laws]] through the first half of the twentieth century, maintaining segregated and demonstrably unequal facilities for white and Black visitors. The park's very construction by African-American CCC workers stood in sharp contrast to the exclusionary policies that governed its use once built.
 
In 1955, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', Virginia state park administrators chose to close Seashore State Park entirely rather than comply with desegregation orders — a response that reflected the broader policy of [[massive resistance]] adopted by Virginia's political leadership. The park remained closed to the public until 1965, when it reopened as a fully integrated facility following the enactment of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].{{sfn|Friends of First Landing|}}


=== Renaming the Park ===
=== Renaming the Park ===


The geographic moniker of "Seashore" stuck when the park opened in 1936, and it became formally known as Seashore State Park. In 1997, during the early planning stages of the Virginia Company and Jamestown 400th commemorations, community groups rallied to change the name — and the park is now called First Landing State Park. Though its former name is still commonly used by Tidewater locals. In 2007, the park hosted a re-enactment of the first landing as part of the Jamestown 400th anniversary celebrations.
The park operated under the name Seashore State Park from its 1936 opening for more than six decades. In 1997, during the early planning stages for the Virginia Company and Jamestown 400th anniversary commemorations, community groups and state officials rallied to rename the park in recognition of its historical significance to early English settlement. The park was officially redesignated First Landing State Park that year, though longtime Tidewater residents frequently still refer to it by its former name.{{sfn|DCR Blog|}} The renaming was part of a broader effort to reframe the site's public identity ahead of the 2007 anniversary events, which brought national attention and a formal re-enactment of the 1607 landing to the park's shores.


=== Native American Heritage ===
=== Native American Heritage ===


Virginia Indian tribes relied on the coastal area as a source of fresh food, setting up temporary hunting camps for the summer months. First Landing State Park houses the remains of 64 Virginia Indians in a ceremonial gravesite; the remains were repatriated to Virginia from the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in 1997.
Long before English colonists arrived, Virginia Indian tribes relied on the coastal area as a seasonal source of food and resources, establishing temporary hunting and fishing camps during the summer months. The 1607 expedition's journals record encounters with Algonquian-speaking peoples in the vicinity of Cape Henry within days of the landing.
 
First Landing State Park holds the repatriated remains of 64 Virginia Indians in a ceremonial gravesite within the park. The remains, which had been held by the [[Smithsonian Institution]], were returned to Virginia in 1997 under the [[Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act]] (NAGPRA), which requires federal agencies and institutions receiving federal funding to return Native American cultural items and human remains to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated tribes.{{sfn|DCR|}}


== Geography and Natural Features ==
== Geography and Natural Features ==


First Landing State Park is located on Cape Henry in northern Virginia Beach. The park features beach, back dunes, upland forest, tidal marsh, and cypress swamp, and contains one of the most endangered habitat types in the world — the maritime forest community. The park is also the northernmost East Coast location where subtropical and temperate plants can be found growing together.
First Landing State Park occupies the southern tip of Cape Henry in northern Virginia Beach, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. The park encompasses a striking range of habitats compressed into a relatively small area: open bay beach, back dunes, upland maritime forest, tidal salt marsh, freshwater wetlands, and bald cypress swamp. It is also the northernmost location on the East Coast where subtropical and temperate plant species grow together in the same community — a convergence driven by the moderating influence of the Chesapeake Bay and the region's position at the boundary of two distinct climate zones.{{sfn|NPS|}}


The site hosts the highest natural points in Southeast Virginia, with massive dunes that reach up to 75 feet in height. These ancient dunes, built up over thousands of years by wind and wave action along the Chesapeake Bay shoreline, have since been stabilized and draped in Spanish moss-laden maritime forest.
The park's most dramatic topographic feature is its ancient dune system, which reaches heights of up to 75 feet — the highest natural points in southeastern Virginia. These dunes were built over thousands of years by wind and wave action along the bay shoreline and have since been stabilized by deep-rooted vegetation. Spanish moss drapes the live oaks and loblolly pines of the maritime forest that now covers much of the dune system, creating an environment more commonly associated with the Carolinas or Georgia than with coastal Virginia.


The 3,598-acre Seashore Natural Area, a portion of which is located within the park, was listed as a National Natural Landmark in 1965. The designation recognized the significance of the park's forested dunes and semitropical vegetation.
The 3,598-acre Seashore Natural Area, a portion of which falls within the park's boundaries, was listed as a [[National Natural Landmark]] in 1965 by the [[National Park Service]]. The designation recognized the ecological significance of the park's forested dunes, its rare maritime forest community — considered one of the most endangered habitat types in the world — and its unusual assemblage of Atlantic white cedar, bald cypress, and Coastal Plain plant species that together form communities found in few other places along the Eastern Seaboard.{{sfn|NPS NNL|}}


The park's waterways have served human activity for centuries. Native American canoes, Colonial settlers, 20th-century schooners, and modern cargo ships have navigated the park's waterways, and its cypress swamps were a source of fresh water for merchant mariners, pirates, and military ships. The swamps served mariners during the [[War of 1812]], and legend holds that [[Blackbeard]] hid in the Narrows area of the park, while interior waterways were used by Union and Confederate patrols during the [[Civil War]].
The park's interior waterways include a series of cypress swamps and tidal creeks that have served human activity for centuries. Native American canoes, Colonial-era settlers, and later merchant mariners, privateers, and military vessels navigated or sheltered in these waters. The cypress swamps provided fresh water to ships anchored offshore during the [[War of 1812]], and local tradition holds that the pirate [[Blackbeard]] used the Narrows area of the park as a hiding place. Union and Confederate patrol vessels used the park's interior waterways during the [[Civil War]].


== Trails and Recreation ==
=== The Rainbow Sheen in the Swamps ===


The park features 1.5 miles of shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay and over 20 miles of trails throughout the park and its many habitats. With the exception of the Chesapeake Bay beach, the trail system traverses most of the habitats found in First Landing State Park — cypress swamp, salt marsh, maritime forest, freshwater wetlands, dunes, and bay shoreline.
Visitors to the park's cypress swamp trails frequently notice a rainbow-colored sheen floating on the surface of standing water and sometimes mistake it for an oil spill or pollution. The phenomenon is entirely natural. The sheen is produced by iron-oxidizing bacteria and biofilms — thin microbial mats that form on the surface of anaerobic, or oxygen-depleted, water as organic matter decays on the swamp floor. As iron compounds in the decomposing leaf litter oxidize and rise to the surface, they form a thin, iridescent film that refracts light in the same way as petroleum products.


Among the most popular individual trails are:
The easiest way to distinguish natural biofilm from an actual oil slick is to disturb the surface: biofilm fractures and breaks apart into rigid plates when touched, while petroleum-based oil spreads and flows back together. The sheen in First Landing's swamps is a sign of a healthy, active decomposition cycle — not contamination.


* '''Bald Cypress Trail''' — A shady 1.5-mile loop through the gnarly, knobby cypress swamps, with wooden boardwalks and observation platforms that offer a unique perspective on the ecosystem and its wildlife.
== Trails and Recreation ==


* '''Long Creek Trail''' — A five-mile trek through open salt marshland that traces the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, passing picturesque White Hill Lake and offering some of the finest birdwatching in the area.
The park features 1.5 miles of shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay and more than 20 miles of trails traversing its varied habitats. The trail system reaches into virtually every corner of the park, passing through cypress swamp, salt marsh, maritime forest, freshwater wetlands, dune systems, and bay shoreline. With the exception of the beach itself, nearly every significant habitat type in the park can be accessed on foot.


* '''Cape Henry Trail''' — The only trail in the park that allows bicycles, running through the heart of the park for 5.9 miles.
The Bald Cypress Trail is a 1.5-mile loop through the park's cypress swamp, traveling on wooden boardwalks and observation platforms that place visitors directly above the water and root systems of the ancient trees. The Long Creek Trail runs five miles through open salt marsh along the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, passing White Hill Lake and offering some of the finest wading bird and waterfowl observation in the region. The Cape Henry Trail, at 5.9 miles, is the only trail in the park open to bicycles and cuts through the heart of the park's upland forest.{{sfn|DCR|}}


The park in northern Virginia Beach offers boating, swimming, nature programs, hiking, biking, picnicking, a boat launch, camping, cabin rentals, and trails. A boat launch is located at the end of the 64th Street park road, which ends at the Narrows — a section of bay between Broad Bay and Linkhorn Bay. Fishing and crabbing are also popular activities throughout the park; a valid Virginia saltwater fishing license is required to fish at First Landing.
Beyond hiking and biking, the park offers swimming along its Chesapeake Bay beachfront, boating, fishing, crabbing, picnicking, and a range of naturalist programs. A boat launch is located at the end of the 64th Street park road, which terminates at the Narrows — a channel of water between Broad Bay and Linkhorn Bay. Fishing and crabbing are popular throughout the park's waterways and beach; a valid Virginia saltwater fishing license is required.{{sfn|DCR|}} Open fires are prohibited throughout the park from midnight to 4:00 p.m. daily, and visitors should check current seasonal fire regulations before arrival.


== Overnight Accommodations ==
== Overnight Accommodations ==


There are more than 200 campsites in First Landing State Park. The park offers cabins, yurts, water and electric hook-up campsites, tent campsites, a picnic area, boat ramps, and a camp store. Cabin options include six two-bedroom frame cabins and fourteen two-bedroom cinderblock cabins. The park also features recreational yurts — a modern adaptation of an ancient nomadic shelter that are functionally a cross between a tent and a cabin — located along the dunes near the Chesapeake Bay.
The park operates more than 200 campsites with a range of accommodation types. Options include water and electric hook-up sites, tent campsites, six two-bedroom frame cabins, and fourteen two-bedroom cinderblock cabins. The park also offers recreational yurts — circular, semi-permanent shelters derived from the portable dwellings of Central Asian nomadic peoples — located along the dune system near the Chesapeake Bay. The yurts function as a middle ground between tent camping and cabin rentals, with more structural protection than a traditional tent and a closer connection to the outdoors than a fully enclosed cabin.{{sfn|DCR|}}


First Landing State Park is open every day from 7 a.m. to dusk, with overnight areas accessible 24 hours a day when open. A $7 per vehicle entrance fee applies most of the year, while visits during peak-season weekends and select holidays cost $10 per vehicle.
First Landing State Park is open every day from 7 a.m. to dusk, with overnight areas accessible around the clock when open for the season. A $7 per vehicle entrance fee applies for most of the year; visits during peak-season weekends and select holidays cost $10 per vehicle.{{sfn|DCR|}}


== Education and Visitor Center ==
== Education and Visitor Center ==


First Landing's visitor center has educational displays that focus on the first landing by English settlers in 1607. The Chesapeake Bay Center features aquariums and a wet lab operated by the [[Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center]], educational displays, historic exhibits, a camp store, an amphitheater, and a Gateways Program regional welcome center.
The park's Chesapeake Bay Center serves as both a visitor center and an environmental education facility. It features aquariums and a wet laboratory operated in partnership with the [[Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center]], along with historical exhibits focused on the 1607 landing, a camp store, an outdoor amphitheater, and a Gateways Program regional welcome center.{{sfn|DCR|}}


The park offers various self-guided and guided programs covering crabbing, junior rangers, beach walks, nature hikes, and structured environmental education programs, with large clubs, school groups, and community organizations able to request specific historical, cultural, and environmental programming. The park participates in Virginia's ''State Parks: Your Backyard Classrooms'', a 40-activity curriculum guide used by K–12 teachers and home-school coordinators.
The park offers self-guided and ranger-led programs covering topics from crabbing and junior ranger activities to beach ecology walks and formal environmental education curricula. Large groups — school field trips, community organizations, and clubs — can request programming tailored to historical, cultural, or environmental themes. The park participates in Virginia's ''State Parks: Your Backyard Classrooms'' initiative, a 40-activity curriculum guide used by K–12 classroom teachers and home-school educators across the state.{{sfn|DCR|}}


The Friends of First Landing State Park is an organization that supports the park through fund-raising and volunteer efforts. Interpretive trails, an excellent visitor center, and excellent venues for photography make this a premier wildlife viewing destination.
The Friends of First Landing State Park is a nonprofit organization that supports the park through fundraising and volunteer programs, including trail maintenance, interpretive events, and shoreline cleanups.{{sfn|Friends of First Landing|}}
 
=== Proposed Road Development ===
 
A proposed extension of Nimmo Parkway through southern Virginia Beach has raised concerns among conservationists and park supporters about the potential impact on First Landing's natural preserve. The proposed alignment would pass through or adjacent to protected land associated with the park, and environmental advocates have called for an independent assessment of the route's ecological consequences before any construction proceeds. The Virginia Department of Transportation has not announced a final decision on the project's alignment as of 2025.


== References ==
== References ==


<references>
{{reflist}}
<ref name="dcr">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/first-landing |work=Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
 
<ref name="nps">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/first-landing-state-park.htm |work=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
=== Sources ===
<ref name="visitvb">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/experiences/outdoor-activities/parks-nature/first-landing-state-park/ |work=Visit Virginia Beach |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
<ref name="visitvb2">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park: Explore Virginia's Most-Visited State Park |url=https://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/trip-ideas/first-landing-state-park-explore-virginias-most-visited-state-park/ |work=Visit Virginia Beach |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
<ref name="vaorg">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://www.virginia.org/listing/first-landing-state-park/7304/ |work=Virginia Tourism Corporation |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
<ref name="friends">{{cite web |title=History of First Landing |url=https://friendsoffirstlandingstatepark.com/history-of-first-landing |work=Friends of First Landing State Park |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
<ref name="dcrblog">{{cite web |title=The Park Formerly Known as "Seashore" |url=https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/blog/the-park-formerly-known-as-seashore-5384 |work=Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
<ref name="flsporg">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, VA |url=https://www.first-landing-state-park.org/ |work=First Landing State Park Guide |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
<ref name="dwr">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://dwr.virginia.gov/vbwt/sites/first-landing-state-park/ |work=Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
<ref name="vbguide">{{cite web |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://virginiabeach.guide/first-landing-state-park/ |work=Virginia Beach Visitors Guide |access-date=2026-02-25}}</ref>
</references>


[[Category:State parks in Virginia Beach]]
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnref|DCR}} |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/first-landing |work=Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |access-date=2026-02-25}}
[[Category:Parks and open spaces in Virginia Beach]]
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnref|NPS}} |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/first-landing-state-park.htm |work=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=2026-02-25}}
[[Category:National Natural Landmarks in Virginia]]
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnref|Friends of First Landing}} |title=History of First Landing |url=https://friendsoffirstlandingstatepark.com/history-of-first-landing |work=Friends of First Landing State Park |access-date=2026-02-25}}
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Beach]]
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnref|DCR Blog}} |title=The Park Formerly Known as "Seashore" |url=https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/blog/the-park-formerly-known-as-seashore-5384 |work=Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |access-date=2026-02-25}}
[[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Virginia]]
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnref|NPS NNL}} |title=National Natural Landmarks — First Landing State Park |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=FILA-VA |work=U.S. National Park Service, National Natural Landmarks Program |access-date=2026-02-25}}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnref|NPS NRHP}} |title=National Register of Historic Places — Seashore State Park Historic District |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/ |work=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=2026-02-25}}
* {{cite web |ref={{sfnref|Virginia DWR}} |title=First Landing State Park |url=https://dwr.virginia.gov/vbwt/sites/first-landing-state-park/ |work=Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources |access-date=2026-02-25}}
* {{cite book |ref={{sfnref|Salmon|1986}} |last=Salmon |first=John C. |title=A Preliminary History of the CCC in Virginia State Parks |publisher=Virginia Division of Parks |year=1986}}
* {{cite book |ref={{sfnref|Percy|1608}} |last=Percy |first=George |title=Observations Gathered out of a Discourse of the Plantation of the Southern Colony in Virginia by the English, 1606 |year=1608 |publisher=William Welby |location

Latest revision as of 04:39, 19 April 2026


First Landing State Park is a 2,888-acre state park situated on Cape Henry in the northern section of Virginia Beach, Virginia. As Virginia's most-visited state park, it draws more than a million visitors annually, serving as a natural refuge within one of the most densely populated corridors on the East Coast. The park stands near the site where Captain Christopher Newport and approximately 104 men and boys of the Virginia Company first came ashore on April 26, 1607, before establishing the permanent English settlement at Jamestown. Built in part by African-American Civilian Conservation Corps workers between 1933 and 1940, the park is a National Natural Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It draws visitors year-round for its rare ecological diversity, extensive trail network, Chesapeake Bay beachfront, and deep ties to American colonial history.

History

The 1607 Landing

On the early morning of Sunday, April 26, 1607, three small ships carrying the first permanent English settlers to Virginia approached the shore near Cape Henry at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Those three ships — the Discovery, the Susan Constant, and the Godspeed — had departed England in December 1606 under the authority of the Virginia Company of London. Roughly 104 men and boys were aboard; no women made the crossing on this initial voyage. Christopher Newport served as the expedition's naval commander, responsible for navigating the vessels across the Atlantic and along the coast.

That evening the colonists opened the sealed orders from the Virginia Company and discovered that, while the members of the governing council had been named, no president had been designated. They held what is considered the first recorded free election under English common law in the New World. According to George Percy — younger son of the eighth Earl of Northumberland and one of the expedition's chroniclers — the colonists "set up a cross and called the place Cape Henry," naming the headland for Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King James I.Template:Sfn After several days exploring the surrounding land and waterways, the party moved inland and established Jamestown on May 14, 1607.

A cross was erected within the state park by the Daughters of the American Colonists on April 26, 1935, to mark the general location of the first landing, with a placard at the base bearing the dates of the landing and the subsequent settlement at Jamestown. This park cross is distinct from the nearby Cape Henry Memorial — a granite cross maintained by Preservation Virginia (formerly the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) that stands just outside the park's boundary on the grounds of Fort Story. In 2007, the park hosted a re-enactment of the first landing as part of the Jamestown 400th anniversary celebrations.

Civilian Conservation Corps and Park Founding

Development of the park — then called Seashore State Park — began in 1933 when the Civilian Conservation Corps began work on 1,060 acres of donated land. The labor was performed primarily by African-American CCC enrollees, including members of Company 1354P, one of the segregated "colored" companies established under the CCC's racially divided organizational structure. Working under the supervision of the Virginia State Commission on Conservation and Development and with architectural drawings and construction plans provided by the National Park Service, the CCC crews built the park's cabins, trail system, recreational facilities, and infrastructure over the better part of a decade.Template:Sfn The new park opened on June 15, 1936, and was the first planned state park in the Virginia State Park system. CCC work at the site continued through 1940, by which time the park encompassed a considerably more developed trail and facility network than at its initial opening.

The Seashore State Park Historic District, comprising the entire 2,888-acre park, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places with significance dating to 1933 for its architecture and engineering. The historic district includes eight contributing buildings, six contributing sites, and ten contributing structures — the majority of which were built or substantially shaped by CCC labor.Template:Sfn

Segregation and Civil Rights

Like all Virginia State Parks in the decades following Reconstruction, First Landing State Park enforced Jim Crow laws through the first half of the twentieth century, maintaining segregated and demonstrably unequal facilities for white and Black visitors. The park's very construction by African-American CCC workers stood in sharp contrast to the exclusionary policies that governed its use once built.

In 1955, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, Virginia state park administrators chose to close Seashore State Park entirely rather than comply with desegregation orders — a response that reflected the broader policy of massive resistance adopted by Virginia's political leadership. The park remained closed to the public until 1965, when it reopened as a fully integrated facility following the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.Template:Sfn

Renaming the Park

The park operated under the name Seashore State Park from its 1936 opening for more than six decades. In 1997, during the early planning stages for the Virginia Company and Jamestown 400th anniversary commemorations, community groups and state officials rallied to rename the park in recognition of its historical significance to early English settlement. The park was officially redesignated First Landing State Park that year, though longtime Tidewater residents frequently still refer to it by its former name.Template:Sfn The renaming was part of a broader effort to reframe the site's public identity ahead of the 2007 anniversary events, which brought national attention and a formal re-enactment of the 1607 landing to the park's shores.

Native American Heritage

Long before English colonists arrived, Virginia Indian tribes relied on the coastal area as a seasonal source of food and resources, establishing temporary hunting and fishing camps during the summer months. The 1607 expedition's journals record encounters with Algonquian-speaking peoples in the vicinity of Cape Henry within days of the landing.

First Landing State Park holds the repatriated remains of 64 Virginia Indians in a ceremonial gravesite within the park. The remains, which had been held by the Smithsonian Institution, were returned to Virginia in 1997 under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which requires federal agencies and institutions receiving federal funding to return Native American cultural items and human remains to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated tribes.Template:Sfn

Geography and Natural Features

First Landing State Park occupies the southern tip of Cape Henry in northern Virginia Beach, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. The park encompasses a striking range of habitats compressed into a relatively small area: open bay beach, back dunes, upland maritime forest, tidal salt marsh, freshwater wetlands, and bald cypress swamp. It is also the northernmost location on the East Coast where subtropical and temperate plant species grow together in the same community — a convergence driven by the moderating influence of the Chesapeake Bay and the region's position at the boundary of two distinct climate zones.Template:Sfn

The park's most dramatic topographic feature is its ancient dune system, which reaches heights of up to 75 feet — the highest natural points in southeastern Virginia. These dunes were built over thousands of years by wind and wave action along the bay shoreline and have since been stabilized by deep-rooted vegetation. Spanish moss drapes the live oaks and loblolly pines of the maritime forest that now covers much of the dune system, creating an environment more commonly associated with the Carolinas or Georgia than with coastal Virginia.

The 3,598-acre Seashore Natural Area, a portion of which falls within the park's boundaries, was listed as a National Natural Landmark in 1965 by the National Park Service. The designation recognized the ecological significance of the park's forested dunes, its rare maritime forest community — considered one of the most endangered habitat types in the world — and its unusual assemblage of Atlantic white cedar, bald cypress, and Coastal Plain plant species that together form communities found in few other places along the Eastern Seaboard.Template:Sfn

The park's interior waterways include a series of cypress swamps and tidal creeks that have served human activity for centuries. Native American canoes, Colonial-era settlers, and later merchant mariners, privateers, and military vessels navigated or sheltered in these waters. The cypress swamps provided fresh water to ships anchored offshore during the War of 1812, and local tradition holds that the pirate Blackbeard used the Narrows area of the park as a hiding place. Union and Confederate patrol vessels used the park's interior waterways during the Civil War.

The Rainbow Sheen in the Swamps

Visitors to the park's cypress swamp trails frequently notice a rainbow-colored sheen floating on the surface of standing water and sometimes mistake it for an oil spill or pollution. The phenomenon is entirely natural. The sheen is produced by iron-oxidizing bacteria and biofilms — thin microbial mats that form on the surface of anaerobic, or oxygen-depleted, water as organic matter decays on the swamp floor. As iron compounds in the decomposing leaf litter oxidize and rise to the surface, they form a thin, iridescent film that refracts light in the same way as petroleum products.

The easiest way to distinguish natural biofilm from an actual oil slick is to disturb the surface: biofilm fractures and breaks apart into rigid plates when touched, while petroleum-based oil spreads and flows back together. The sheen in First Landing's swamps is a sign of a healthy, active decomposition cycle — not contamination.

Trails and Recreation

The park features 1.5 miles of shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay and more than 20 miles of trails traversing its varied habitats. The trail system reaches into virtually every corner of the park, passing through cypress swamp, salt marsh, maritime forest, freshwater wetlands, dune systems, and bay shoreline. With the exception of the beach itself, nearly every significant habitat type in the park can be accessed on foot.

The Bald Cypress Trail is a 1.5-mile loop through the park's cypress swamp, traveling on wooden boardwalks and observation platforms that place visitors directly above the water and root systems of the ancient trees. The Long Creek Trail runs five miles through open salt marsh along the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, passing White Hill Lake and offering some of the finest wading bird and waterfowl observation in the region. The Cape Henry Trail, at 5.9 miles, is the only trail in the park open to bicycles and cuts through the heart of the park's upland forest.Template:Sfn

Beyond hiking and biking, the park offers swimming along its Chesapeake Bay beachfront, boating, fishing, crabbing, picnicking, and a range of naturalist programs. A boat launch is located at the end of the 64th Street park road, which terminates at the Narrows — a channel of water between Broad Bay and Linkhorn Bay. Fishing and crabbing are popular throughout the park's waterways and beach; a valid Virginia saltwater fishing license is required.Template:Sfn Open fires are prohibited throughout the park from midnight to 4:00 p.m. daily, and visitors should check current seasonal fire regulations before arrival.

Overnight Accommodations

The park operates more than 200 campsites with a range of accommodation types. Options include water and electric hook-up sites, tent campsites, six two-bedroom frame cabins, and fourteen two-bedroom cinderblock cabins. The park also offers recreational yurts — circular, semi-permanent shelters derived from the portable dwellings of Central Asian nomadic peoples — located along the dune system near the Chesapeake Bay. The yurts function as a middle ground between tent camping and cabin rentals, with more structural protection than a traditional tent and a closer connection to the outdoors than a fully enclosed cabin.Template:Sfn

First Landing State Park is open every day from 7 a.m. to dusk, with overnight areas accessible around the clock when open for the season. A $7 per vehicle entrance fee applies for most of the year; visits during peak-season weekends and select holidays cost $10 per vehicle.Template:Sfn

Education and Visitor Center

The park's Chesapeake Bay Center serves as both a visitor center and an environmental education facility. It features aquariums and a wet laboratory operated in partnership with the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, along with historical exhibits focused on the 1607 landing, a camp store, an outdoor amphitheater, and a Gateways Program regional welcome center.Template:Sfn

The park offers self-guided and ranger-led programs covering topics from crabbing and junior ranger activities to beach ecology walks and formal environmental education curricula. Large groups — school field trips, community organizations, and clubs — can request programming tailored to historical, cultural, or environmental themes. The park participates in Virginia's State Parks: Your Backyard Classrooms initiative, a 40-activity curriculum guide used by K–12 classroom teachers and home-school educators across the state.Template:Sfn

The Friends of First Landing State Park is a nonprofit organization that supports the park through fundraising and volunteer programs, including trail maintenance, interpretive events, and shoreline cleanups.Template:Sfn

Proposed Road Development

A proposed extension of Nimmo Parkway through southern Virginia Beach has raised concerns among conservationists and park supporters about the potential impact on First Landing's natural preserve. The proposed alignment would pass through or adjacent to protected land associated with the park, and environmental advocates have called for an independent assessment of the route's ecological consequences before any construction proceeds. The Virginia Department of Transportation has not announced a final decision on the project's alignment as of 2025.

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